SIGNS OF A RELIGIOUS SPIRIT

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I have a passion for writing and sharing God’s Word with everyone. I love His Word. God has opened a few doors for me in my writing by placing a number of professional writing mentors in my path and they have helped me tremendously in my writing growth. Thank you Jesus.

It is very hard to keep silent when one can discern things when reading God’s Word. I don’t mean to imply that I see everything or profess to hold the office of the prophet, because I don’t. However, I have such a desire in my heart to reach out to the body that I feel compelled to teach and share what I have learned over my lifetime. I have been a student of the Bible, off and on, for over 50 years.

There are many people, let alone Christians, who are hurting and bound in any number of ways. Some are fresh converts and do not know the Bible that well. According to many Christians, Christ is still up on the Cross or we have put Him up there again by our actions or beliefs. I know that I have and continue to do so daily. Forgive me Lord. Help my unbelief. My heart goes out to these hurting people especially in these days.

In the process, my writing reflects what we need to do to be victorious “in Christ.” However, when I use statements like, we should, we have to, or we need to, I end up talking down to the reader. Without meaning to, it elevates my status above them. Sometimes my heart gets ahead of my pen. I want to give my readers their brains back and stop thinking for them. So, I am trying hard to eliminate the “superior writing” style.

The second sign of a religious spirit is: When leadership style is bossy, overbearing, and intolerant of the weakness or failure of others. By using should, have, and need to statements, I believe that my writing becomes a little like each of these traits, maybe not in the strongest sense of the word in which it infers but nonetheless, it does.

When we disseminate our writing, we are setting ourselves up in a leadership position, whether that is the intent or not. It is a huge responsibility. Therefore, we had better be as right as we can and then let the reader think for themselves. God will hold us accountable for their blood.

It would appear that I suffered from another religious spirit. God was teaching me more about myself in my writing, than I was while trying to teach others through my writing. God has a good sense of humor.

Again, my manual called this style “superior writing,” and here is an example from my second book of what they meant by this term. The first example is the original paragraph.

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It is another thing to speak to identities “in Christ.” Our identities, destinies, and our perceived significance to God, are very important aspects of our personal and spiritual make-up. The body needs to get back to the basics. If we are ever to become a world in order, we need to understand these three aspects of our psyche. So. . .what is the definition of identity?

I edited this paragraph to read:

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It is another thing to speak to who we are “in Christ.” Our identities, destinies, and our perceived significance to God, are very important aspects of our personal and spiritual make-up. Every time I revisit basics, they teach me something new and I remember something that the Holy Spirit is trying to impress on me at the time, to which I say, thank you Lord. Basics are foundational and our foundation is Christ Himself. If we are ever to become a world in order, it is crucial to understand these three aspects of our psyche. Therefore. . what is the definition of identity?

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. (James 3:17,18)

When we write, peace, gentleness, mercy, impartiality, and humility are good objectives to adopt, for . . .the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. I have endeavored to remove most statements containing the words “we should, we need,” and “we have to.” There will be an occasion to use these words but we’ll know when that time will be. I pray that this has helped you in your writing presentation.

As a good writing friend of mine once said, ". . .the challenge to good writing is the writer's ability to get out of the way and let God's Spirit move the reader to a conclusion." To this I would add, that every peace should espouse hope, encouragement, and that they can make it.

Instead of telling the reader what to do, I try to tell them about the benefits of what I am asking them to do. In other words, instead of saying something like, "We need to get back to basics." I say something like, "Basics are foundational to our faith, and Christ is our foundation." Or something like, "Basics can benefit us all." Or, "Every time I revisit basics, I learn something new or remember something that the Holy Spirit is trying to impress on me at the time, to which I say, thank you Lord."

God bless you all in your writing and in your walk with the Lord. Again, you can find a list of religious spirits and a test at my Website: http://www.jameslindquist.net/htmfiles/free.htm

I heard a message the other day in a new church I tried out last Sunday. I love the pastor and his presentation. I may have found a new church home. It was a great message. He said that we should pass it around and preach it ourselves. So. . .next week, we’ll look into the Book of Acts. It is a pertinent message for this day and concerns the tools needed for the furtherance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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